Mossad

Ha-Mossad le-Modiin ule-Tafkidim Meyuhadim (Hebrew: Institute for Intelligence and Special Tasks , המוסד למודיעין ולתפקידים מיוחדים) is an Israeliintelligence agency, commonly referred to as Mossad. It is responsible for intelligence collection, covert action, and counter-terrorism. Its focus is on Arab nations and organizations throughout the world.

Mossad was formed in April1951 from the Central Institute for Coordination and the Central Institute for Intelligence and Security. Mossad is a civilian service, and does not use military ranks, although all of the Mossad's staff have served in the Israeli Defence Force (as a part of Israel's compulsory draft system), and many of them are officers.

Mossad has long had a reputation for being an extremely effective agency (see links below). However, it has also been involved in several spectacular debacles. In 1973, Mossad murdered Ahmad Bouchikhi, an innocent Arab waiter in Lillehammer, Norway, who had been mistaken for Ali Hassan Salameh, one of the leaders of the Black September organization, which was responsible for the Munich Massacre. The Mossad agents used fake Canadian passports, which angered the Canadian government. In 1997, two Mossad agents were caught in Jordan, on mission to assassinate Sheikh Khaled Mashal, a leader of the Hamas terrorist group. Again, they were using fake Canadian passports. This led to a diplomatic row with Canada, and Israel was also further forced to release several Palestinian prisoners, in particular the militant Hamas leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, who is playing a prominent role in attacks against Israeli civilians during the current Al-Aksa Intifada, in exchange for the Mossad agents.

Collections Department is the largest, with responsibility for espionage operations.

Political Action and Liaison Department conducts political activities and liaison with friendly foreign intelligence services and with nations with which Israel does not have normal diplomatic relations.

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